As the world's leading provider of confidential insider information from 1979 to 2000, Auto Industry Newsletter has now re-emerged by popular request to provide chief executives with the insight necessary to meet today's challenges.
Editor: John Mortimer

Monday, 24 December 2012

Nissan
is investing £250 million in manufacturing facilities at its site in Washington,
Sunderland, to build the new Infiniti Etherea hatchback from next year.

The project will create an extra 1,000 jobs in the UK,
including some 280 in the North-East. The Etherea is seen by Nissan as
competition for the Audi A3 and the BMW 1-Series.

Etherea will be manufactured
only in Sunderland and production, when it gathers momentum, is expected to hit
at least 60,000 a year. Additional contributions will come from Nissan’s London
design centre as well as the Nissan European Technical Centre (NETC) at
Cranfield, Bedfordshire, which also handles design work as well as component
and vehicle development.

Saturday, 15 December 2012

Volvo
could be set to introduce KERS-based technology in 2016, making it one of the
first automakers to offer the system to customers.

Flybrid Automotive Ltd., a small, innovative and privately-owned
company with a hand-picked team of engineers at Silverstone, UK, has been
working on flywheel-based kinetic energy recovery systems (KERS) for a few
years with leading vehicle- builders, including JaguarLandRover (JLR).

In the case of JLR, the
KERS has been linked to a continuously variable transmission (CVT) activated at
the rear axle. The work has proved particularly beneficial and is now being
extended. Initially commissioned to demonstrate fuel economy gains, the
technology, still using the same basic rear axle mounted flywheel and CVT, is
being directed towards enhancing vehicle performance.

However, at this juncture,
JLR does not appear to have a platform that is design-ready to accept a
flywheel-based KERS. In any case, Jaguar has a number of other vehicle programmes
it is anxious to bring to market more quickly.

Thursday, 13 December 2012

ACCESS to aluminium could become an
important element of a new link between JaguarLandRover (JLR) and the Saudi
Arabia government in Riyadh.

The
UK-based vehicle builder, owned by Tata Motors of India, has signed a ‘letter
of intent’ with the Saudi Arabia government that could pave the way for the company
to build vehicles in the Middle Eastern region.

Aluminium
has already become an important element of some Jaguar models and the signs are
that it will become even more so as increasing attention is focused on ‘light-weighting’
of body-in-white (BIW) structures.

Jaguar
already has one of the most up-to-date aluminium stamping lines in the UK at
its Castle Bromwich facility in the West Midlands. The Schuler press lines are
exclusively used to press skin panels and other components in aluminium.

Monday, 10 December 2012

Fiat
Group subsidiary Iveco is set to embark on a programme to adopt compacted graphite
iron (CGI) in the engines of its commercial vehicles.

Diesel engine specialists
and foundry men within the Fiat organisation are already familiar with CGI, following years of development work both at Fiat’s Teksid foundry division and
by the group’s diesel engine maker Iveco.

But the time is drawing
near for a decisive step to be taken if commercial vehicle maker Iveco is to
meet tougher Euro 6 emissions legislation. Euro 6 will emerge in two stages: newly type-approved vehicles from 1 January 2013, and all newly-registered vehicles from 1 January 2014.

The focus of attention centres on
Mexico where the Teksid foundry in Monclova has ordered a full refurbishment of
its SinterCast CGI process control technology, including an upgrade of its
System 3000.

Sunday, 9 December 2012

The secret plant for JaguarLandRover’s
next-generation Hotfire engine, now in the early stages of construction
adjacent to the M54 in Wolverhampton, will effectively be a ‘cut and paste’ job
of an existing UK engine facility.

The
implications of this will be revealed in the nature of the machine tools and
other manufacturing equipment, most of which will be sourced from Germany.

In
today’s computer-generated industrial world, it almost becomes second-nature to
‘cut & paste’ individual machining cells and other process equipment to
create a manufacturing hinterland. Cells for the five-Cs – cylinder heads,
cylinder blocks, crankshafts, camshafts and con-rods – are all well defined in
machine tool vendors’ CAD goody boxes; though today camshafts and con-rods
will likely come direct from component suppliers.

It is most likely, in this respect
that the £355 million Hotfire engine facility due to come on-stream in 2014 could bear a close similarity to various aspects
of Ford’s Bridgend Engine Plant (BEP) - or indeed various individual aspects of other engine plants in Europe or the US. Earlier this year Ford announced plans
to boost output at the South Wales plant of its 1.6-litre EcoBoost
four-cylinder engine. The move effectively will triple the production of
vehicles with EcoBoost engines to 480,000 a year by 2015 up from 141,000 in
2011.

Thursday, 29 November 2012

“The time is
now right for us to adjust our approach to one of more aggressive, accelerated
growth in order to capitalise on the substantial opportunity ahead that will
allow us to introduce our clean technology into mainstream commercial and
passenger vehicles world-wide,” Jeremy Deering, chief executive of Torotrak plc,
told us today, after announcing the company’s latest half-year results.

This
suggests that following the departure of former chief executive, Dick Elsy,
Deering’s arrival will herald an emphatic change of direction; one that aims to steer the
business in a direction that will bring returns more quickly than before.

With a
period-end cash balance of £10.7 million, Deering said Torotrak would now “put
its hands in its pockets” to push forward more aggressively a number of its
programmes.

Torotrak has
three main product areas: infinitely variable transmissions (IVTs), MKERS or
mechanical energy recovery systems and V-Charge, an induction boost system. Together
the value of the latter two lines is roughly equivalent to that of the IVT
business, according to Deering. At the
moment IVTs are directed principally at commercial vehicles and off-highway
applications.

On the V-charge
front, Deering expects to spread the technology across four platforms, from
small cars like the Renault Clio, into sports utility vehicles (SUVs) with
1.6-litre engines, premium vehicles that might require a two-stage device, and
one other.

The aim is
to build more prototypes and develop simulation tools with the aim of spreading
wider an understanding of the performance and economy benefits. There is an aim too to break the supply route
issue: OEMs trying out the system want to know if there is a Tier 1 supplier standing
in the wings; and Tier 1 suppliers want to know if Torotrak has an OEM customer
lined up.

Sunday, 18 November 2012

JAGUARLANDROVER
(JLR) has clinched a deal with Chery Automobile to build a new vehicle
manufacturing plant near Shanghai, due to open in 2015.

Significantly,
the vehicle manufacturing facility at Changshu will be alongside a state-of-the-art
research and development facility and a new engine plant that could be modelled
on the new engine plant now in the initial stages of construction in Wolverhampton,
UK to produce the ‘Hotfire’ engine range.

Chery
Automobile is China’s sixth largest car manufacturer but the country’s largest
exporter. Last year it sold 650,000
units. Total car sales in China last year was 18.5 million.

JLR
is owned by TATA Motors which has revealed plans for a £10 billion expansion plan
over the next five years; the link with Chery is part of that expansion plan.
JLR has said that the output from the plant, which in the first phase is set to
make 130,000 units a year, will be in addition to existing output – and not a
replacement for any UK production unit. It is understood that 60 per cent of
the plant’s output will be Land-Rover-badged vehicles.

Wednesday, 7 November 2012

Navistar International Corporation expects
to announce this month the date of start of production (SOP) of its Big Bore
engines that have been found to be non-compliant with US Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) regulations.

The
US engine builder has been forced to halt production of MaxxForce 13 and 15 diesel
engines following the EPA’s decision to oppose the company’s type of engine
emissions technology.

So,
in an embarrassing about-face, Navistar will adopt SCR technology and is
working closely with Cummins to resolve its current issues. Navistar, based in Lisle, Illinois, has
opposed SCR technology for years and is now paying the price.

Navistar
has come to a long-term supply agreement with Cummins Inc. of Columbus, Indiana
to use its heavy-duty diesel engines and “emissions after-treatment systems” for
Big Bore engines.

Tuesday, 6 November 2012

It is curious that in the year
General Motors confirmed Luton, UK as the focus of its European Vivaro van
production, Ford elected to vacate its Swaythling, Southampton plant in favour
of centralised Transit van production in Turkey where costs are lower.

The
interesting difference is that Turkey is effectively outside the principal European trading community. However, it cannot be ignored that in June this year, the European Investment
Bank (EIB) approved a £80 million loan to help ramp up production of Transit
vans at the Ford Otosan facility at Kocaeli, Turkey.

The UK, France, Germany and Italy are the main source of funds for the EIB.

The
loan was agreed as part of a billion dollar investment plan – about £600
million – for Ford’s 395-acre site in Kocaeli. The application for the loan was
made in October 2011 to finance the modernisation of the plant ahead of new
generation Transit 6.

Sunday, 4 November 2012

Speculation amongst some observers suggests
there would be no surprise if the “sensational” engine using compacted
graphite iron (CGI) block, due to bow in the 2013/2014 time frame (see last
post), comes from Ford Motor Company; the engine lying within the company’s Ecoboost
family.

Speculation
is ignited through the announcement 29 October by global foundry Tupy SA of Joinville,
Brazil, that it has placed a contract against SinterCast for its System
3000plus process control technology to use for the production of 300,000-plus
high-quality CGI castings a year.

Industry
insiders suggest the projected annual volume of over 300,000 a year of the new
CGI blocks from Tupy SA is too high for a vee-diesel production run. This implies
either an in-line diesel or a gasoline engine.

IF
the new application is for a gasoline engine, the block could be in-line or vee
configuration. For an in-line engine, Ford is one speculated OEM customer to
take such high volumes.

But,
on the other hand, IF the new CGI block is intended for a vee gasoline engine,
then General Motors could be the customer. However, GM has no previous
experience of machining CGI on such a massive scale. And over 300,000 blocks a
year is ‘big scale’. All IFs and BUTs.

The
EcoBoost is a family of direct-injected gasoline engines developed by Ford in
association with FEV Engineering. They range from the three-cylinder I-3 of
100-123bhp, through the 1.6-litre I-4, the 2-litre I-4 and up to the 3.5-litre
V6 giving 350bhp.

The
speculation would fit in with suggestions (in the previous post) that the
cylinder block of the upcoming engine is an I4 of around 1.6 to 2-litres and not
a vee diesel engine configuration. Indeed the idea could be taken a stage
further – the engine could be an I-3 three-cylinder 1.6-litre or an I-4
four-cylinder 2.2-litre gasoline engine.

The
benefits of CGI have now become well established and well-proven through the
efforts of numerous OEMs, with Audi and Ford leading the pack in passenger
vehicle applications: lighter weight, higher strength, higher stiffness, and
improved rigidity and NVH. In theory, a CGI block can be as light as an
aluminium block and would be of great advantage in the Ford Focus or light duty
truck use in the US.

CGI
would assist with Ford’s programme of down-sizing whilst retaining improved
performance and fuel economy. For example, a 2.2-litre I4 gasoline engine with
a performance of 125bhp/litre could deliver 257bhp and 300ftlb torque. With
150bhp/litre this would give 330bhp. Eventually, around 380bhp might be
possible with 2-litres being seen as a possible company in-line capacity limit
in years to come.

In
the absence of mature information at this stage, speculation further fuels the nature
of the upcoming engine family. For example, it is known that Ford has carried
out work over the years on HCCI (Homogeneous Charge Ignition Engines) in
partnership with PSA in France on the 2.7-litre V6 engine with a CGI block.
Both companies have experience of machining CGI cylinder blocks. Could HCCI be
a step too far for Ford at this stage?

In
an HCCI engine, fuel and air are mixed and injected into the cylinder. The
piston compresses the mixture and spontaneous combustion occurs. (In HCCI, the
engine combines the fuel and air pre-mixing of a spark ignition engine with the
instantaneous combustion of a diesel engine.)

Ford
also has supported HCCI research through Massachusetts Institute of Technology
(MIT) and oil giant BP. Ford executives believe an HCCI engine can give near-diesel engine fuel
efficiency but with the lower cost of the gasoline engine. However, to be
successful, the conventional gasoline cylinder block must be strengthened and
this is where a CGI block could be of advantage.

Ford
is not alone. General Motors too has tested HCCI in Aura and Vectra mid-sized
cars. But GM has not machined CGI blocks before in production-environment
volumes. It has yet to introduce its own CGI engine, though GM Europe, must
have ‘looked over the shoulder’ of VM Motori in Italy with its vee diesel. GM
has plans for a CGI V8 diesel but they are believed to be still on the back
burner.

Another
variation is GDCI or Gasoline Direct-Injection Compression Ignition where low
emissions are combined with high efficiency. In 2010, Delphi Corporation with
Hyundai America Technical Center and academics from Wisconsin University won a
US$7.48 million grant from the US Department of Energy to develop a GDCI
engine; details were presented at the 2012 SAE World Congress in Detroit.

In
GDCI, air is compressed in the cylinder before partially pre-mixed fuel is injected
into the cylinder. As air is compressed, the heat generated is sufficient to
ignite the mixture without need for a spark plug.

GDCI
differs from HCCI in that with the latter, air and fuel are mixed before
compression begins. Compression of the air/fuel mixture causes self-ignition,
rather than introducing air/fuel into the hot compressed air at or near top
dead centre, as with GDCI. GDCI would benefit also from a CGI block.

Among
those working on advanced powertrain systems in the UK is CAFDR, the Centre for
Advanced Powertrains and Fuels Research at Brunel University, Uxbridge.
Sponsoring companies include Ford Motor Company and Delphi Diesel Systems.

Global
machine tool supplier MAG IAS LLC of Erlanger, Kentucky, is probably the
pack-leader in terms of most experience of developing and supplying machining
centres for CGI, though Grob-Werke GmbH of Mindelheim, Germany cannot be
discounted through its association with Audi. This year, Grob-Werke opened a
production base in Liaoning, China – its fourth. MAG claims to have
successfully used cryogenics to machine CGI, and has supplied Ford with machine
tools for its latest V8 diesel engine lines in Chihuahua, Mexico. The Chihuahua
Engine Plant (CEP) makes engines for Ford’s F-series trucks. These vee engines
use CGI blocks from Tupy SA.

Meanwhile,
back to square one – all IFs and BUTs. But whatever, this will prove to be a “landmark”
CGI engine application – the biggest-ever single order for such a prominent and vital engine component. ∎

Wednesday, 31 October 2012

The biggest contract ever placed by
an OEM for a compacted graphite iron (CGI) cylinder block has been placed
against the foundry Tupy SA of Joinville, Brazil.

The
contract calls for production to ramp up to over 300,000 passenger car cylinder
blocks a year, starting 2013. Production will be based at Tupy’s North American
base in Saltillo, Mexico.

The
contract makes the programme the highest-volume CGI block in the world. The block
will be Tupy’s eighteenth CGI component, further reinforcing the company’s
global leadership in the production of these components.

Rumours
in the automotive industry point to the castings being employed in a
“sensational” engine that will mark a “new era”, reflecting “new thinking” in
engine technology. The rumours further point to Ford Motor Company as the OEM,
however the identity of the OEM will be released, it is expected, in
March/April 2013.

Meanwhile,
to produce the new castings in Saltillo, Tupy is ordering SinterCast’s System
3000Plus process control technology to automatically control the base
treatment, process control measurement and final adjustment of magnesium and
inoculant prior to casting.

This
will be SinterCast’s most comprehensive installation with a capacity of 15
ladles per hour and over nine hours of production a day.

Tupy
is tantalisingly vague as to the OEM and the nature of the engine configuration
that will use the CGI block.

However,
SinterCast claims the contract will yield over 300,000 engine equivalents a
year. Insiders who follow SinterCast closely well know that each engine
equivalent weighs 50kg. So, on the basis of matching volume to the equivalents,
suggests a cylinder block weight of 50kg.

Up
to the present time, all of SinterCast’s current production passenger vehicle
cylinder blocks are vee-diesel configuration.

Interestingly
however, a production volume of 300,000 a year is too large a production run for a vee-diesel engine. The implication
therefore is that the contract is for either an in-line diesel or in-line gasoline
engine.

However,
those who follow SinterCast’s activities with more than passing interest, will
be aware that at the May 2012 Annual General Meeting, Dr. Steve Dawson, chief
executive officer of SinterCast referred to a “pending petrol engine order”.

To
put the single-order, one-block 300,000 volume into context, one only has to
refer to comments made by Dawson at a conference in 2007 on the benefits of
CGI. Dawson noted that “today, 40,000 CGI cylinder blocks are produced each
month for OEMs,, including Audi, DAF, Ford, Hyundai, MAN, Mercedes-Benz, PSA
and Volkswagen”. That figure covered both passenger car and commercial vehicle applications.

Dawson pointed to the weight-saving benefits
of CGI, namely the material offers double the fatigue limit of conventional
grey iron (and aluminium alloys), while the improved strength and stiffness of
CGI enhances dimensional stability to reduce piston slap, bore wear, oil
consumption and blow-by; as well as NVH performance.

In
addition, CGI can help engineers as they deal with increasing cylinder
pressures, though in the case of a gasoline engine this is less significant.

The
benefits of CGI’s weight-saving characteristics to the current Tupy contract
can be seen from figures Dawson released in 2007. He noted that a 2-litre I4
gasoline engine would weigh 31.8kg in grey iron but only 26.6kg in CGI, a
reduction of 16.4%. In another example, he cited a 2.2-litre I4 gasoline engine
could yield a 28% weight reduction.

Likewise,
he noted that a 1.8-litre, I4 diesel engine of 38kg in grey iron would
weigh 29.5kg in CGI – a reduction of 22.4%.

Highlighting
all-round benefits, Dawson noted that a fully-assembled CGI engine can be 5%
lower, 5% narrower, 13% shorter and 9.4% lighter. These figures highlight the
contribution made by CGI to downsizing and power-up objectives, indicating some of the reasons why CGI was selected
by the OEM for this application.

The
high-volume nature of the contract (300,000 a year) suggests a single facility
working nine hours a day, five days a week for 48 weeks a year, would deliver
the equivalent of 140 jobs an hour. On double shift this would be 70 jobs an
hour.

These
figures suggest that any manufacturing implications that might have been associated with the choice of CGI have now been
eliminated, or can be accommodated

As to the blocks' eventual destination, it is known that Tupy exports a significant amount of its production to both North america and Europe. ∎

Friday, 26 October 2012

As many in the industry have been forecasting, Ford is finally shuttering its
Southampton plant where over two million Transit vans have been built.

It
seems only yesterday that Ford Motor Company was making plans to turn the
company’s Southampton, UK plant from making Transit vans to chassis- cabs in
readiness for the launch of Transit 6.

That was in 2008. Since then, with Transit 6 now launched, the market in
Europe has changed. The euro crisis and the economic downturn have forced Ford
to “restructure”, as vehicle demand declines. The result is that Ford’s 2008/9
plans to ‘save’ its UK Transit plant in the wake of the 2012 run-out of Transit
5 have been ditched.

Even as close as August 2010, Ford was still preparing for the Southampton
upgrade that would see the removal of the present body framing lines and
robotised body-in-white production. There was even talk earlier this year
Transit 6 chassis-cabs still being built at Southampton. Ford even extended the
run-out of the Transit line from 2011 to 2012 in readiness for the launch of
Transit 6 in 2013.

Thursday, 18 October 2012

Torotrak has a new CEO. Is the company now about to
deliver the goods, or is a long wait still in prospect?

Many are the explanations why chief executive officers leave
their companies. Some, like bankers, do so after feeling the ire of public, shareholders
or government. Others feel they have reached the end of the road in what they
can achieve. Others are tempted by the prospect of new challenges.

Only Dick Elsy knows the real reason for leaving
transmission innovator Torotrak plc to join the High Value Manufacturing –
Catapult from the first of this month as chief executive officer, replacing the interim CEO.
This particular Catapult first opened in October 2011.

Elsy is replaced as CEO by Jeremy Deering, Torotrak’s
finance and commercial director; he has been with Torotrak since 2006.

Monday, 8 October 2012

The Vauxhall
Van Plant at Luton, Bedfordshire, is undergoing exciting changes in preparation
for the launch of the new X82 van in second quarter 2014.

Introducing a new vehicle onto
the manufacturing floor is never easy; the more so if it is a van. Unlike cars,
new van models are rolled out only once every 12 years or so; the team that
launched the last one is unlikely to be that which launches the next.

And so it is at the
Vauxhall Van Plant, Luton where engineers are making ready for X82, scheduled
for 2nd quarter 2014. According to plant director Mike Wright, it is
important for the project team to be in place well ahead of launch. The X82
replaces the current X83 design.

‘We have to make sure the
team we have is capable of building the vehicle. Very soon, we will be off to
France with a hand-picked team of our most experienced people,’ he said. ‘They
will see the vehicle for the first time. In November they will see prototypes
when they go to Sandouville, near Le Havre. We expect our first build vehicles
here in June 2013. We have seen computer-generated images of the new vehicle.
It looks fantastic.’

Saturday, 6 October 2012

Word on the street suggests General Motors is on the
point of selling its UK Millbrook Proving Ground in Bedfordshire.

Rationalisation of GM’s
future requirements for test and development activities suggests that demands
for the well-known proving ground are likely to diminish, paving the way for a
transfer of ownership. About 60% of Millbrook’s business is thought to have its
origins in GM; the remainder is generated by outside interests.

Several parties have expressed interest but the most
likely future owner could be JaguarLandRover (JLR) which has increasing demand
for Millbrook’s extensive resources and is in the throes of reorganizing it UK operations.

JLR is also in the
midst of an aggressive new model programme which places huge demands on
facilities and people.

Of particular interest to JLR are Millbrook’s proving
grounds, most notably the secure high speed test track capable of 150mile/h
(240km/h). An added bonus is Millbrook’s own description of offering ‘extreme
testing for extreme conditions’.

Not to be discounted either is Millbrook’s ample,
secluded environment which would make it easy to extend engine and vehicle test
facilities. Also, Millbrook already employs many highly skilled engineers of
which JLR is currently short.

In addition, JLR is
revamping its engine test facilities in the light of ever-unfolding emissions
regulations especially in the USA. For example, Horiba Automotive Test Systems
of Northampton is working through a £7 million contract at Jaguar to update five
engine emission test cells having recently completed a £5 million contract at
Land Rover.

Compliance with
California’s upcoming regulations is important to the SUV, sports and luxury car maker
as the UK business, owned by TATA Motors of India, knows full well that without
such clearance JLR would be unable to sell vehicles in the state.

JLR has six principal
sites: Gaydon, Oxfordshire and Whitley, Coventry for design and engineering; manufacturing
sites at Halewood on Merseyside, Castle Bromwich and Solihull in the West
Midlands which has for many years been the home of Land Rover production. Finally,
JLR (TATA) is building a new engine plant in Wolverhampton.

It is expected that a
new upcoming cross-over vehicle, could be built at the west Midlands site.
Halewood is the home of both Freelander and Evoque, the latest product from
JLR. Castle Bromwich symbolises JLR’s expertise in aluminium vehicle production
and will be production location for the new F Type.

JLR’s centres for
design and engineering have traditionally been located at Gaydon and Whitley.
But the addition of a site like Millbrook would offer the company additional
engine and vehicle test facilities. The extensive test tracks on offer in the
Bedfordshire countryside would provide JLR with unique secure facilities to
conduct all-round development, particularly off-road development.

GM has found that it no
longer has the need for Millbrook, some 40 percent of the work of which is
taken up by third parties, including Transport for London. Just how many of its
existing customers JLR will be able to retain remains to be seen. However, it is almost certain that Millbrook will continue to work for GM under the terms of an agreement that will be made with the new owner. Transport for London and the Ministry of Defence are also likely to continue as customers.

Other UK vehicle
manufacturers include BMW, Honda, Nissan and Toyota. Such companies are unlikely
to want to discharge any work to Millbrook which might be confidential in
nature.

This not to suggest
they would not use Millbrook for more general work. Indeed, the extensive
nature of Millbrook’s facilities provides plenty of options to attract a whole
range of test and development work, including safety, systems test and vehicle
conversion.

Among recent work at Millbrook has been development of X82, the next generation Opel/Vauxhall Vivaro van built at Luton, Bedfordshire.

The idea for Millbrook
blossomed in the mid-1960s when Vauxhall and Bedford began developing ideas for
a proving ground based on their parent General Motors facilities in the US.
Construction began in 1968 and following GM’s acquisition of Lotus Millbrook
became Millbrook Proving Ground Ltd, a subsidiary of Group Lotus.

However, the facilities
were separated out from Lotus in 1993 and became part of GM holdings UK Ltd,
effectively “privatizing” them. Subsequently,
Millbrook has developed a world-wide client base. It describes itself as
one of Europe’s leading locations for the development and demonstration of
every type of land vehicle, from motor cycles to passenger cars, and heavy
commercials to military and off-highway.

Millbrook employs some 300
highly skilled engineers suggesting the business has an effective sales
turnover of £30 million a year.

Meanwhile, in Germany GM has invested 28.5 million euros enhancing its Opel/Vauxhall Dudenhofen facility. The work includes a new high-speed circuit and full electronic control and measurement technology.